need some help from design masters

[barricades]

Hey there guys and girls, I've been tasked with re-jigging our website and I'm not much of a designer.

I've come up with a few logo ideas and a couple of mock ups for the home page.

If anyone who's interested wouldn't mind having a look and letting me know what they think about logo and design. All criticisms welcomed :) No offence will be taken.

http://traditionalirishgifts.com/design/design.html

Whats the best logo? Is the design any good?

I was tempted to just fill the front page with categories and products but having reviewed loads of design sites and other ecommerce sites, it seems big pictures are the way to go?

thanks in advance :)

[chrishirst]

it seems big pictures are the way to go?Not for every website "home" page, just because that's what others do, does NOT mean it is "best".

The design should complement the product and do NOT forget that not every visitor will arrive via the "home" page.

Logo? bottom left by a long way, though none are "logos" in the truest sense of the word. What you have presented are really "banner headers" telling people your name

Taking the shamrock leaf and overlaying T I G clockwise around the petals would be a "logo".

layouts? the top I would suggest. Although I'm not sure what the background is supposed to be or represent.

It looks like magnified protozoa or algae cells dividing and multiplying.

[barricades]

Lol. Not having had the benefit of any time on our local library's scanning electron microscope, I'll have to take your word on the protozoa. It's actually meant to be celtic symbols and was my first attempt at making a pattern on Photoshop. D'oh!

Thanks for the reply. Very much appreciated.

So you said which logo and design was the 'best' but do you actually think they are any good? Honesty is the best policy :) what can I do to make it better?

[chrishirst]

You will have heard the "less is more" adage. Well, it does apply to Graphic design and web design.

When you go back to "add things" you tend to lose sight of what was actually wanted and get carried away with technicalities and "kewl" effects.

As a critique, the ones with the timber background are rather "busy"

[chrishirst]

oh and the shamrock in the plantpot looks like it was grown near the Windscale water outflow.

[barricades]

Anyone else fancy having a look at my site and giving me some opinions?

thanks

[meesa]

Do you want a logo or a banner? As the logo at the top with that huge banner below with then name in it isn't complimentary. Choose one.